USC Aiken hires new coach

When he speaks, Vince Alexander sounds like a man sold on USC Aiken. And the school is sold on him as well.

Alexander became the sixth basketball head coach in Pacer history, when the school announced Friday the hiring of the Mansfield University (Pa.) coach to the 36-year-old program.

Alexander replaces interim coach Steve Franklin, who stepped in after eighth-year coach Mike Roberts resigned in December. Alexander becomes the program's first black head coach.

"It was an opportunity for us to be closer to family," Alexander said in a phone conversation. "I saw an institution that's very sound academically. It's a university on the move."

Alexander takes over a program coming off four consecutive losing seasons and has not made a postseason appearance since Roberts' first season in 1997-98. Roberts, who went 95-111 in eight seasons, stepped down after his team began last season 4-5. The Pacers finished with a 7-21 record.

Only one of the Pacers' five head coaches has had a successful stint - Larry Wall went 78-58 in the early 1980s. The program has had just three 20-win seasons since 1985.

"There is some rebuilding involved," Alexander said. "Any time you have a new coach coming in, you have new philosophies. With the guys there, there's great potential."

In six seasons at Division II Mansfield, Alexander's up-tempo squads went 89-74. He helped rebuild the Mountaineers' program and led them to winning season the past three years, including a 21-7 mark in the 2003-04 campaign.

Masnfield finished 18-11 this past season, with a league-best 10-2 mark in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference. The Mountaineers won the Eastern Division championship and advanced to the conference tournament semifinals.

Alexander managed to win despite having no more than two scholarships; USC Aiken has nine full scholarships. He will officially begin his job July 1, but plans to come to town before then.

"We're all very excited about Vince. His track record is excellent," said USC Aiken athletic director Randy Warrick, who declined to name the other four finalists vying for the position.

Alexander and wife, Anita, have a son, 8-year-old Benjamin. Alexander said he has family in Charlotte, N.C., while his wife has family in Florida and Georgia.

Alexander also believes there's a strong family atmosphere within the USC Aiken campus. And he wants his role to become that of a parent to his athletes, where he transforms them into "great citizens, great husbands, great fathers."

"I believe I have a great accountability to the university to the athletes and to their family," he said. "It's my job to prepare these athletes for the game of life. Life contains wins and losses, but attitude is how you handle those losses. They're going to learn to win the right way."

Reach Chris Gay at (706) 823-3645 or chris.gay@augustachronicle.com.

Year-by-Year

A look at the six-year record of Mansfield University under coach Vince Alexander (right), who was announced as the new men's basketball coach at USC Aiken on Friday:

1999-200013-13

2000-200110-16

2001-20029-16

2002-200318-11

2003-200421-7

2004-200518-11

Totals89-74